
TROY, NY — There was very little contact during the Albany Devils practice Tuesday at Knickerbacker Ice Arena. Skills Development Coach Pertti Hasanen was in town, leading three on-ice sessions to help improve the players’ stick handling and skating. These days have come to be known as “Pertti Days” and have proven their worth.
“He has a skating aspect to it and gets specific with skating and stick handling from a positional standpoint,” said Head Coach Rick Kowalsky. “I thought it was well received by the players last year. It’s a good change of pace as the season progresses and breaks up some of those long week blocks from game to game. Overall it was a success last season and we’re excited to have him work with us this year.”
The Devils return to a more tactical practice Wednesday at the Knickerbacker. They are in preparation for a three-in-three weekend, including home games Friday and Saturday at Times Union Center.
It’s a skills day for the #ADevils. All part of developing those #sickmitts pic.twitter.com/4GhE5LK0J4
— Albany Devils (@AlbanyDevils) October 18, 2016
• LAST WEEK’S PERFORMERS
Fifteen of the 18 skaters in the lineup during the Devils opening weekend had points and eight of them has multiple points. Here’s a look at last week’s top performers:
Player | GP | Pts | G | A | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ben Sexton | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
Ben Thomson | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
John Quenneville | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
Blake Pietila | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
Ryan Kujawinski | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
Rod Pelley | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
Brandon Gormley | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
Carter Camper | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
• DANIS FINDS A TEAM
Yann Danis, who helped backstop the 2015-16 Devils to the best record in franchise history, has signed with the St. John’s IceCaps. The Devils just defeated the IceCaps, 5-2, Saturday at Times Union Center.
Danis set franchise records a season ago with 28 wins and eight shutouts. He represented the Devils at the 2016 AHL All-Star Classic and finished third in the league with a 2.22 goals-against average and second for shutouts.